Under Agriculture Department rules, 108,000 signatures, or 10 percent of the cattle producers nationwide, are needed to force a referendum on the promotion fee, known as a checkoff.

"USDA will see the support (for a referendum) in very concrete form when they open these boxes," said John McBride, a spokesman for the Kansas City, Mo.-based Livestock Marketing Association.

The fee raises about $80 million a year. McBride said Wednesday that the money has done little to change what until recently had been a steady decline in beef consumption.

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association, which receives funding from the checkoff, issued a statement saying the checkoff has the "overwhelming support" of producers.

"We expect USDA to verify the names of people who may or may not be cattle producers who have signed petitions and who may or may not have known what they were signing," the group said.

The referendum wouldn't occur until next year. USDA also has been petitioned to hold a vote on a separate promotion fee for pork. The signatures are verified randomly to ensure that they came from eligible producers.

Some 19,043 signatures were submitted in September, requesting a referendum on the pork checkoff; 14,986 were needed.